Others have tackled these topics, like Richard Foster in Money, Sex and Power. But Tim Keller, for better or worse, frames it historically in light of the failure of many of these false gods in the economic crisis most of the world is experiencing.

This is an excellent book, though I am not sure it measures up to The Prodigal God. Few books do. This is a subject Tim Keller handles very well.

Some have been critical of the new, prevailing notion of idolatry as if it takes the place of sin. Keller argues that the idea of idolatry makes more sense than the idea of sin (in this world of relativism). Beyond that he refers to Luther’s point that idolatry is the root of sin rather than just being one of many sins. So what Keller is doing here is trying to get to the root of our sin, the many false gods that we serve.

While we were engaged, CavWife and I discussed any number of things. One of them being… Christmas. We both wanted to de-emphasize gifts for the kids to try and keep the focus on Jesus. We are not anti-Santa, as though he were demonic or anything. It was just that we know the human heart, and it is covetous.

So, we really haven’t talked about Santa with the kids either way. He shows up in a few stories we read to them. We have not stopped and said, “now kids, you know Santa…”. We’ve sort of let sleeping dogs lie.

Fastforward to CavGirl’s dentist appointment this week. The hygenist brings the kids back alone for the first part of the appointment. That was when the small talk happened, and Pandora’s Box was opened, never to be closed again.

I came back to meet with the dentist and hygenist. The dentist asks about what she wants from Santa. Did she send him a list? “We really don’t emphasize Santa.”

The hygenist chips in, “she wants a Barbie.” I’m sensing implanted memories here, because she doesn’t have a Barbie, and has NEVER asked for a Barbie.

After we get home, she keeps wondering what Santa will bring- as if her parents and grandparents don’t come through for her. Once or twice she mentions “she of the outlandish, impossible figure”- Barbie.

The seed of covetousness found fertile soil in her heart. Discontent may now set in. There may be drama, crying and whining. These people assume everyone in America is all about Santa, and now may have tainted our family celebration. I might be bummed. But I know that I do have to pray that covetousness will die in their hearts, and mine.

I’ve reviewed some specific sections and issues from Andrew Farley’s The Naked Gospel. He wrote the book in order to relieve people from the bondage of legalism which can come from misunderstanding the gospel. That is a great thing. But Farley seems to misunderstand the gospel in a different way.

He begins the book by inviting theological discussion. Theological disputation is an important thing, but it must be done properly. Where Farley, and his book, ultimately fails is how he pursues theological disputation.

His book is filled with exegetical and hermeneutical errors. Texts are often taken out of context. His method of interpretation is profoundly flawed. He ignores texts that may have something to say about his points. When talking about how we won’t stand before God at the Great White Throne, he tosses out Matthew 25 due the fact that it took place before the Cross. Nor does he refer to Romans 14:9-12.

9 For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. 10 You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. 11 It is written: ”‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.’” 12 So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.

Joseph is one of the forgotten men of Scripture. Matthew’s Gospel is the only source we have for information about this pivotal man. He is one of the links in the chains of God’s providence without which we have no Messiah, no Savior, no hope, no peace with God or one another. Joseph … how can we not be thankful for Joseph?

Joseph is called a righteous man, and as a result he was going to divorce a mysteriously pregnant Mary. We can see that his righteousness is like that of Abraham, who trusted God, instead of the Pharisees who sought to put God in their debt with their goodness.

They were betrothed, which in that day meant you were as good as married. It was not broken off without just cause, and sexual indecency of some sort was about the only just cause. It appeared that Mary had either been unfaithful, or raped. Joseph sought to put her away quietly. He did not want her exposed to severe penalties. He was compassionate as well as righteous.

But here we find the first of many relevatory dreams Joseph receives.

20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.” 24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. 25 But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

The message is inconceivable. A child by the Holy Spirit? Unheard of. Even Abraham’s child of promise was conceived the old fashioned way. It was a miracle, though it used ordinary processes. This was a different order of miracle- for this promised Son was to be the Savior.

It has been a strange offseason for baseball to say the least. There have been some surprising turn of events. It has not turned out as expected by many experts, agents and players.

Last year the Yankees spent tons of money on 3 players. Due to the economy, and fears of a prolonged recession, many players did not get big contracts, or long contracts. Bobby Abreu, for instance, took a cheap (by baseball standards) one-year contract with the Angels. He had a very productive year which he leveraged into a good contract.

Experts and agents expected big money to be tossed at players like Chone Figgens, Matt Holliday, Jason Bay, Adrian Beltre and John Lackey. That really hasn’t materialized as expected.

Figgens got a good deal from Seattle, but not quite what many expected from a guy who showed himself a very good defender and lead-off hitter. It happened fairly quickly as the Mariners began a process of remaking the team. Figgens essentially replaced Beltre, who is asking for another rich contract. Like many Scott Boras clients, Beltre sits waiting for the promised big deal that doesn’t seem to be materializing since Scott can’t create competition for his client’s services. If the Red Sox back off of Beltre because he’s asking too much, most teams are probably hanging up on Boras.

I really appreciated the perspective on leadership presented in Roger Parrott’s book The Longview. I found it helpful to better understand my role as a leader and to avoid many of the traps that undermine leaders or waste their time with unnecessary work.

The B&B Media Group provided me with a copy of the book. And they just provided a brief interview with the author about the book. Here you go:

Many of today’s ministries suffer from a near-sighted vision. Too often leaders choose easy solutions over principled, long-term strategies. The results can be devastating, as ignored issues become full-blown crises, and small problems become big challenges.

The Longview (David C Cook, October 2009)is a fresh approach to leadership that will transform how readers make decisions and address problems. Author Dr. Roger Parrott offers proven, practical principles drawn from scripture and his renowned career in educational leadership. Parrott issues readers a timely challenge: Defy the trends of short-sighted goal-making for quick returns by learning to lead for long-term significance.

Do we have a leadership void today?

The problem is not that we don’t have great leaders, in fact, we’ve probably never had more educationally well prepared leaders than we have today. The problem is that leaders are caught in an ever tightening vice grip of unrealistic expectations that pressure them into valuing turn-around over transformation. Today’s leaders are expected to find simple solutions to complex problems, and because these quick-fixes only hold for a short time, leaders from presidents to pastors disappoint those they are leading.

I believe this pattern started in American culture in the 1980s with the quest to get rich quick from junk bonds and buy outs, through the dot.coms in the 1990s, and the explosion of “want it now” credit card debt and built into the real-estate frenzy created by leveraged speculators in the past decide. So leaders have been reared, tutored, and equipped to operate in a world that prizes immediate results over lasting significance.

For three decades skyrocketing incentives have been the norm for all manner of short-term producers—from stockbrokers to college coaches—as leaders at every level have indoctrinated us to believe immediate gains trump long-term consequences. This nearsightedness is eroding the foundational underpinnings of organizational quality and severely handicapping the effectiveness of leaders who are robbing the future to pay for today.

How did the Church become caught up on a short view approach and what are the consequences?

As we often do in the Church, we’ve followed the pattern of the world – in this case, the best of business and organizational teaching – but in mimicking the leadership patters of business and politics, we’ve strayed from the Longview leadership model given to us by Jesus. Because this short view corporate culture has so permeated the church today, we in ministry have loosened our grip on the biblical model for leadership. We have grown to expect and even demand an ever-increasing cycle of measureable and immediate results from our leaders.

Our theology and our ministry passion draw us to talk about Longview outcomes as our heart’s desire, but we have been duped into fostering a generation of leaders, board members, employees, and constituencies who value short-term gain over Longview significance. Ministry leaders believe it and act accordingly—hiring and rewarding people who can promote Band-Aid fixes as monumental solutions, creating plans that promise the moon and always come up short, raising funds from unrealistically compressed donor relationships, and touting those results that can most easily be measured and applauded.

Why do you believe rising leaders are the generation who will value a Longview approach to leadership?

For three reasons I’m convinced this new generation of leaders are ready to embrace Longview leadership:

1. They know the short view doesn’t work. This is likely to be the first generation that has not had a quality of life better than their parents. And they know the reason is we are not dealing with Longview solutions in the macro problems of health care, terrorism, energy, and the economy. And they will be the ones to pay the price for patchwork fixes.

2. They are connected to huge networks of real people through social networking, and listen to them rather than public relations messages – and they know from their peers that sugarcoating a problem doesn’t make it go away.

3. This new generation of leaders is much more focused on mission significance and problem solving than on organizational stature and position climbing. They want to make a difference in the world, and they are willing to dig into problems to find lasting solutions.

The challenge for younger leaders is that they have never been given the tools to lead in a Longview pattern. So the book is not just a call to Longview leadership, but mostly is deals with the everyday nitty-gritty issues of leadership from a Longview perspective.

Yes, I can’t believe I had to type in 2010. Only one more year to go, or is it 2? I plan to be preaching for some time as God displays His patience and graciously calls people to repent and believe the Great New about His Son and Jesus’ work on the behalf of sinners.